Edwards, Towns lead Wolves' 106-80 blitz of Murray, Jokic for 2-0 series lead over champion Nuggets

DENVER (AP) — Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns powered Minnesota's 106-80 blitz of the Denver Nuggets on Monday night that gave the Timberwolves a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals over the reigning but reeling NBA champions.

Towns and Edwards both scored 27 points as the Wolves improved to 6-0 in the playoffs and gave themselves a chance to close out the fuming Nuggets with wins Friday night and Sunday in Minneapolis.

So dominant were the Wolves that they had the Nuggets throwing both fits (Michael Malone) and objects onto the court (Jamal Murray).

Aaron Gordon led Denver with 20 points, Nikola Jokic had 16 points and 16 rebounds but their third-leading scorer was sub Justin Holliday with 13 points. Murray scored 8 points on 3-of-18 shooting.

The Wolves staggered the Nuggets with body blow after body blow even though their starting center Rudy Gobert was back home in Minneapolis attending the birth of his son Sunday. But they didn't need Gobert's shot blocking prowess and rim protection on this night to continue their domination of the Nuggets at Ball Arena, where Denver was 36-8 before their back-to-back losses to Minnesota.

Kyle Andeson replaced Gobert in the starting lineup and the Timberwolves hounded Jokic and disrupted Denver's offense just the same.

During a 43-18 first-half flourish by the Timberwolves — Edwards was on the bench for much of it, no less — the Nuggets grew so frustrated that Malone ran way out onto the court and got in official Marc Davis' face for an extended blowup during a timeout and somehow avoided a technical.

So did Murray after Denver's ailing point guard threw a heat pack onto the court in frustration as Towns was about to score on a layup in the second quarter.

It wasn't clear if the officials realized it was Murray who threw the object onto the court and not a fan. He will likely face punishment from the league, however.

Frustrated by their slow starts — the Nuggets have trailed by double digits in six of their seven playoff games and by nine in the other — Malone challenged his team to get off to a strong start for once.

“What are we waiting for?" he pleaded after Sunday's practice.

Only Aaron Gordon heeded his coach's call, scoring 13 quick points, including a 3-pointer that brought the Nuggets to 18-17 late in the first quarter.

Things unraveled for Denver after that because Jokic was the only other starter to score for the Nuggets before the second quarter. Jokic had just eight points by halftime and Murray, still bothered by a strained left calf, scored just two first-half points for the duo's worst offensive output in a half this season.

Trailing 61-35 at the break, the Nuggets' 26-point halftime deficit was Denver's largest in a home playoff game in franchise history.

The Wolves led 82-60 after three quarters and cruised the rest of the way.

-Associated Press-

Nuggets close out Heat in thriller to clinch NBA title

DENVER  -- The Denver Nuggets sealed their first title in franchise history on Monday, defeating the Miami Heat 94-89 to end a 47-season wait for a maiden NBA championship.

Nikola Jokic scored 28 points with 16 rebounds as the Nuggets won the best-of-seven NBA Finals 4-1 to bring the Mile High City an NBA crown as a sellout crowd roared in delight and pondered what more the young squad could achieve.

"I've got news for everybody out there. We're not satisfied with one," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said afterwards. "We want more."

The championship filled the final gap in the impressive resume of Serbian star Jokic, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and five-time All-Star center in his eighth NBA campaign.

Two days after countryman Novak Djokovic won the French Open for his record 23rd Grand Slam tennis crown, Jokic was named the NBA Finals MVP.

"For us he's the best ever of course," Jokic said of Djokovic. "Now we have our NBA championship. It's a really good moment to be a Serbian."

Jokic delivered on a night when the team struggled with early shooting futility but blanked Miami for more than five minutes of the fourth quarter.

"It was amazing effort by the team," Jokic said. "It was an ugly game. We couldn't make shots. But at the end we figured it out, how to defend and we scored 90 points. That's why we won. I'm just happy we won the game.

"It's good. The job is done and we can go home now."

Michael Porter Jr. added 16 points and 13 rebounds and Jamal Murray added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets.

"We had the belief from the get-go," Murray said. "It's just great to see it through."

"To do it with this group of guys, nothing could feel better than this," Porter added.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 21 points while Bam Adebayo added 20 and 12 rebounds.

Denver was the playoff top seed in the Western Conference while the eighth-seeded Heat, who had to win a play-in game just to reach the playoffs, lost in the finals for the third time in 10 seasons.

"One hell of a basketball team that we couldn't really find enough solutions to be able to get us over the top," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

With their seasons on the line, players brought intensity and physical defending over the final minutes to create an electric atmosphere inside Ball Arena.

The Nuggets, down by as many as 10 points in the first half, pulled within 51-44 at half-time despite going 1-for-15 from 3-point range, the worst-ever NBA Finals shooting half from beyond the arc.

A Murray jumper gave Denver an 81-76 lead with 6:43 remaining while the Heat began the fourth quarter hitting only 2-for-14 from the floor and going scoreless for more than five minutes.

Butler, who had struggled all night, sank back-to-back 3-pointers and made three free throws after a controversial foul on Denver's Aaron Gordon was upheld on video review.

Butler and Jokic traded hoops and Butler followed with two free throws to give Miami an 89-88 lead.

Bruce Brown answered with a rebound basket to put Denver ahead 90-89.

"Those last three or four minutes felt like a scene out of a movie," Spoelstra said. "Two teams in the center of the ring throwing haymaker after haymaker.

"It will probably rank as our hardest, competitive, most active defensive game of the season, and it still fell short."

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stole a pass by Butler and sank two clutch free throws with 24 seconds remaining to give Denver a 92-89 edge.

"For me it was all about defense," Caldwell-Pope said. "We've got to get stops. Defense was going to win us a championship. I always told them that."

Butler missed a 3-pointer, Brown grabbed a rebound for Denver and then made two free throws to seal the victory with 14 seconds remaining.

Agence France-Presse

Nuggets must defy human nature to close out series: Malone

DENVER -- Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone knows the mind can play tricks on players when it comes to crunch time in the NBA Finals, so he's trying out some mental games himself.

His team needs one more win against the Miami Heat to secure their first NBA championship title, after Friday's victory in South Florida gave them a 3-1 lead in the series.

Back on home court Monday, the odds favor the Nuggets who in the last two games have had the measure of Miami in every department of the game.

The home crowd will turn up expecting a celebration and the pundits will talk of Denver needing to simply wrap-up the series but Malone knows that kind of mood spells danger.

"My biggest concern going into any close-out game is human nature and fighting against that," he told reporters.

"You're up 3-1. Most teams, when you're up 3-1, they come up for air. They relax and they just kind of take it for granted that, 'oh, we're going to win this,'" he said.

"The neat thing for us is that going back to the (Covid) bubble, we've been down 3-1. We've come back and won. We know anything is possible," he said.

Three years ago the Nuggets pulled off the relatively rare series comeback twice in the same post-season.

They overturned the Utah Jazz's 3-1 lead in the Western Conference first round and then did the same against the Los Angeles Clippers in the semi-finals.

So Malone has told his team to put themselves in Miami's shoes and play like a team who have to win to survive in the series.

"That's why my message to our team (on Sunday) was our approach has to be we are down 3-1. They are desperate; we have to be more desperate. They are hungry; we have to be hungrier," he said.

"There is no celebrating after Game 4. We have another game that we have to win, and the close-out game is always the hardest game ever," he said.

There have only been eleven other cases in the NBA of a team winning from a 3-1 deficit and only once has it occurred in the finals -- in 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers fought back against the Golden State Warriors.

At the same time, while demanding that hunger, Malone has been reminding his team that they must stick with the approach that has taken them to their first ever finals.

"Stay in the moment and once that jump ball goes up tomorrow night, our players, every possession, every moment of that game can't be (thinking) 'We have to win this game.'"

"We have to stay true to ourselves, trust what's gotten us to this point," he said.

"After game four in Miami, everybody was yelling, 'Just one more win.' Hey, let's just win the first quarter tomorrow night. Take it in small bites. And if you do that possession by possession, quarter by quarter, hopefully when 48 minutes are over, you've done what you needed to do."

That is a mindset that requires cool heads and luckily for Malone, his star man Luka Jokic is ice-cool.

Asked about how he and the team would handle the emotions of such a momentous game, Jokic was utterly on-brand.

"I think it's not going to be emotional," said the Serb.

"It's going to be a job that we need to do to be done. I think we are ready. I think we are going to be locked in and ready to go. It's just going to be a game that we need to win."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Gordon, Brown step up for Nuggets in Game 4 win over Heat

MIAMI -- Aaron Gordon scored a career playoff high 27 points in an all-out attack on the Miami Heat on Friday that helped push the Denver Nuggets to the brink of their first NBA championship.

Gordon led all scorers in the Nuggets' 108-95 victory over the Heat in Miami that put Denver up 3-1 in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

The player once known for his dunking prowess -- including runner-up finishes in the 2016 and 2020 All-Star weekend slam-dunk contests -- showed just how versatile he has become as he connected on 11 of 15 shots from the field -- including three of four from three-point range.

"Making threes, getting to the foul line, guarding at a high level -- Aaron did it all for us tonight, he really did," Nuggets coach Mike Malone said.

Gordon erupted for 15 points in the second quarter as the Nuggets -- who trailed by one after Jimmy Butler's three-pointer to close the first period -- took a 55-51 halftime lead.

"This team does a good job finding the people that are kind of in a rhythm and kind of going," Gordon said. "When it comes down to it, it's just wanting to be great for my teammates. I know when my teammates need me and just doing it for my brothers."

He made his first three attempts from three-point range -- including one from the corner that put Denver up 86-73 with five seconds left in the third quarter.

"I'm just taking the ones that they're giving me, taking the open shots," said Gordon, who was staring down the Heat bench before the ball had cleared the net.

"It's just gamesmanship," he said. "That's part of the game. When you make a three in the corner with the opposition's bench, you can have a little fun with them."

Teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope wasn't surprised to see a few long-range shots fall for Gordon -- he's given him some advice.

"I always tell AG, man, continue to play his game. When you're shooting threes, no up, no in, so make sure you get that ball up so it can go in. He did that tonight."

Gordon's big second quarter helped the Nuggets gain control even as Nikola Jokic shook off a twisted ankle.

When foul trouble sidelined Jokic for more than five minutes in the fourth, Bruce Brown took it to Miami.

Brown scored 21 points in 30 minutes off the bench, pouring in 11 in the final period as the Nuggets repelled every Heat run.

Miami had cut the deficit to eight when Brown converted a three-point play to push Denver's lead back to double digits.

His pull-up three-pointer with 1:21 remaining was the final dagger, giving Denver a 108-91 lead.

"We knew they were going to trap Jamal (Murray) and try to get the ball out of his hands, so the other four players were going to have to make plays, and then luckily it was just my time in the fourth quarter," Brown said.

Agence France-Presse

Jokic and Murray dominate as Nuggets take 2-1 lead over Miami

MIAMI, United States - Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray dominated the Miami Heat, both making triple doubles, as the Denver Nuggets took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals and regained their home court advantage with a 109-94 win in game three on Wednesday.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 32 points with 21 rebounds and 10 assists, an unprecedented triple-double combination in an NBA Finals game.

Murray scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

It was the first time any team in a Finals had two players making triple-doubles in the same game.

Miami simply could not find a way to handle the 6 foot, 11-inch (2.11m) Jokic and unless coach Erik Spoelstra can come up with a plan before Friday's game four, the Heat are going to face an uphill battle.

Jokic became the first player in NBA history to reach the 30 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists mark in a Finals game but took little interest in that achievement.

"To be honest, not much. I'm just glad that we won a game," he said.

"It was a big one for us just because they won in our arena, so we just didn’t want to go down 2-1," he added.

"We were just, I think, more locked in, more focused ... We've got to win the next one, that's our mindset."

After Miami's win in Denver on Sunday, the Nuggets provided the perfect response with the kind of imposing display that coach Michael Malone demanded, and which will have answered any doubts that may have emerged after that loss.

Neither team could get on top in the first quarter, which ended 24-24 after a wonderful turnaround, fadeaway, jump shot from Miami's Kyle Lowry.

But the Heat struggled to contain Murray, who put up 20 points in the first half, while Jokic almost had a triple double by half-time -- the giant Serbian claiming 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in the opening two quarters.

The Nuggets led 53-48 at the half, helped by Miami's lack of precision in the paint where they missed 16 of 25 attempts.

Early in the third though, Denver took a grip on the contest, quickly opening up an 11-point lead. Miami couldn't find either the defensive answers or the offensive potency to get back in the game.

Denver had pushed the lead to 21 with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter and although Miami narrowed the deficit as the Nuggets took their foot off the gas, a third straight loss on home court leaves Spoelstra with plenty to ponder.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 28 points while Bam Adebayo had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

Agence France-Presse

Heat rally to beat Nuggets, level NBA Finals at 1-1

DENVER -- The Miami Heat handed the Denver Nuggets their first home defeat of the playoffs Sunday, surging in the fourth quarter for a 111-108 victory that leveled the NBA Finals at one game apiece.

Gabe Vincent scored 23 points and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo scored 21 points apiece for Miami, who withstood a 41-point performance from Nuggets star Nikola Jokic to get the split in Denver and breathe new life into the championship campaign.

In a game of swinging shifts of momentum, the Heat had the last word, rallying from a 15-point first-half deficit and out-scoring the Nuggets 36-25 in the final period as they silenced the crowd of 19,537 at Ball Arena.

Adebayo sealed it with a pair of free-throws with 48.3 seconds remaining.

"We know we've got to do it on the defensive end," Adebayo said of Miami's fourth-quarter focus. "That's the biggest thing for us. We got to do it on that end because we know we can score, all five guys we believe in. So the biggest thing for us was getting stops."

Denver had a last chance to tie it, but Jamal Murray missed a three-pointer.

"It was a good look, just didn't go down," said Murray, who scored 18 points and handed out 10 assists.

Miami, who came through two play-in games and are trying to become the first eighth-seeded team to win the title, host game three of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday.

"We gutted out one on their home court, so time to go back to the 305," Adebayo said referencing the Miami area code.

Miami, who were dominated in a game one defeat, vowed to step it up and they started strong, leading by 11 with less than five minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Nuggets battled back and were up by 15 in the second quarter on the way to a 57-51 halftime lead.

But Nuggets coach Michael Malone excoriated his team's lack of effort.

"This is NBA Finals, we are talking about effort; that's a huge concern of mine," Malone said. "Tonight, the starting lineup to start the game, it was 10-2 Miami. Start of the third quarter, they scored 11 points in two minutes and 10 seconds.

"We had guys out there that were just, whether feeling sorry for themselves for not making shots or thinking they can just turn it on or off, this is not the preseason, this is not the regular season.

"This is the NBA Finals. That to me is really, really perplexing, disappointing."

Certainly Denver's second-quarter turnaround owed plenty to their bench, which out-scored Miami's reserves 25-5 in the first half.

But it was two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic who asserted himself in the third, scoring 18 points in the period.

Jokic would finish with 11 rebounds but handed out just four assists and coughed up five turnovers as Miami's adjustments limited his effectiveness as a facilitator.

"We had a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding," Jokic said. "You just need to know where to be or what to do or what's the coverage or whatever."

- Moments of truth -

Miami tied it up at 66-66 midway through the third but didn't manage to get back in front and trailed by eight, 83-75 after Denver closed the third on a 6-0 run.

But the Heat opened the fourth on a 15-2 scoring run, taking the lead for the first time since the first quarter on Vincent's three-pointer with 10:10 to play and never trailing again.

After a disappointing shooting display in game one, the Heat connected on 17 of 35 from beyond the arc on Sunday.

Max Strus, who didn't score a basket in game one, led all scorers in the first half with 14 points.

They connected on 11 of their 16 attempts in the fourth quarter, including five of nine from three-point range.

"During the fourth quarter, our guys love to compete," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They love to put themselves out there in those moments of truth.

"Fortunately we were able to make a lot of big defensive plays down the stretch, and then we got a lot of contributions, which you're going to need against a team like this."

Agence France-Presse

Nuggets 'haven't done a damn thing' in NBA Finals, says coach

DENVER -- Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone told his players on Saturday that they "haven't done a damn thing" despite an opening-game romp over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets, led by 27 points from Nikola Jokic and 26 by Jamal Murray, ripped visiting Miami 104-93 on Thursday for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series ahead of Sunday's game two in Denver.

But Malone was not pleased about the opportunities the Nuggets allowed the Heat and urged players not to get swelled heads with pride over winning without playing their best.

"I told our players today, 'Don't read the paper, don't listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we've done something, because we haven't done a damn thing,'" Malone said.

"I told our players the reason I was excited this morning is because we won game one and we didn't play well and there are so many things we can do better. If we do those things at a better level, we'll have a chance to win game two."

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added 10 rebounds and 14 assists while Murray also contributed 10 assists as the Nuggets led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter before the Heat trimmed the margin in the final quarter.

"They were 5-of-16 on wide-open threes," Malone said of Miami's long-range shooting. "The fact they got 16 wide-open threes is problematic and if you think that Max Strus is going to go 0-for-9 again or Duncan Robinson is going to go 1-for-5 again, you're wrong.

"The fourth quarter, we gave up 30 points, 60% from the field, 6-of-12 from the three-point line.

"I thought our pick-and-roll defense was poor. I thought our shrink the floor was poor... There are so many areas we can clean up.

"I'm not worried about what they're going to do. I'm worried about the things that we have to do better to try to win game two."

Malone said he stressed tougher defending against Bam Adebayo, who led the Heat with 26 points.

"If you're going to score 26 points on 25 shots, that's something we're willing to live with," Malone said. "But we can do a better job. That's something we talked about, giving him different looks, making sure we're contesting, making sure we're shrinking the floor."

Malone is less concerned about making strategy adjustments than he is about matching what he expects will be a higher energy level from the Heat on Sunday.

"I expect the Miami Heat to come out with a much greater energy and force and attack mindset," he said.

- 'Going to be better' -

Serbian superstar Jokic said the Nuggets stumbled with their large fourth-quarter lead.

"In the first three quarters, they score (63) points. I think that's really amazing. And then they scored 30 in the fourth," Jokic said.

"Some possessions we play amazing and some possessions we didn't play good. Some quarters we played really good. That's basketball. That's why it's a live thing. You cannot predict what's going to happen.

"Of course we're going to be better, but we're going to take 1-0 for us. Just being focused for 48 minutes, I think that's going to be the key."

Denver forward Aaron Gordon, who scored 16 points in the opener, said the Nuggets can't relax on Miami even with a big lead.

"You just can't be complacent with this team," he said. "You can't be lackadaisical. You can't sleep on this team. This team has no quit. They will continue to fight through the entirety of the game. You can't take your foot off the gas with these guys.

"We need to cut down on the number of open looks that they get. Getting back in transition, keeping them off the offensive glass, and then just tightening up on the defensive end as well."

In a city thrilled about the Nuggets' first NBA Finals trip, the players must contain themselves.

"You have to keep a poise, like an intense energy but calm, while everybody else is really frenetic, " Gordon said. "It's important to just make the main thing the main thing and be focused on the task at hand."

Agence France-Presse

Nuggets dominate Heat in NBA Finals Game 1

DENVER — The Denver Nuggets launched their first NBA Finals campaign in franchise history with a dominant 104-93 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday, propelled by yet another Nikola Jokic triple double.

Two-time Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and 14 assists to lead the Nuggets, who will try to double their advantage in the best-of-seven series when they host Game 2 on Sunday.

Jamal Murray scored 26 points, handed out 10 assists and grabbed six rebounds for the Nuggets, who led by 24 points in the third quarter and repelled the resilient Heat's fourth quarter challenge.

"We respect their team a lot," Jokic said. "We just wanted to get the first punch.

"In the first three rounds they won their first game when they traveled on the road and we didn't want to have that to happen. I think we did a good job."

Bam Adebayo scored 26 points to lead Miami. Gabe Vincent added 19 and Haywood Highsmith scored 18 off the bench, but Heat star Jimmy Butler was limited to 13.

Trailing by 21 entering the fourth quarter, Miami used an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 10. Highsmith's three-pointer got the gap to nine points with 2:34 to play.

But as they had all night, the Nuggets seamlessly pulled away.

Jokic fed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a jump shot, Caldwell-Pope came up with a steal and Aaron Gordon made two free throws as the Nuggets rebuilt the lead.

Jokic added a pair of free throws and a turnaround jump shot and the ecstatic crowd of 19,528 at Ball Arena in Denver could start the celebrations.

"Everybody contributed," Jokic said. "It's a great win for us."

Jokic was content to play facilitator in the first quarter, handing out six assists as the Nuggets clicked quickly despite the 10-day gap since they finished off their sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

Gordon scored 12 points in the first quarter. Jokic didn't take a shot until the waning seconds of the period, when he stripped the ball from Cody Zeller and made a layup that put Denver up, 29-20, at the end of the period.

Meanwhile the Heat, who flew straight to Denver from Boston after finally polishing off the Celtics in game seven of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday, connected on just nine of their 26 attempts in the first quarter.

"They are in a pretty good rhythm, especially in that first half, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Our disposition, the multiple efforts, the resolve in the second half was much better.

"But you get to this level, it has to be complete games of that kind of disposition."

Any way possible 

Denver kept up the relentless pace in the second quarter, Murray scoring 10 points in the period as the Nuggets connected on 60% of their shots.

Four Denver players scored in double figures in the first half. Adebayo had 16 before the break for Miami, but Caleb Martin went 0-for-5 and Max Strus 0-for-7.

Not only were the Heat unable to convert the good looks they had, they couldn't stop the Nuggets inside. Denver out-scored Miami 32-18 in the paint in the first half.

Jokic's 10 points and 10 assists before the break made him the only player besides LeBron James in the past 25 years to reach double digits in both categories in any half of an NBA Finals game.

He posted his 15th playoff triple double with his 10th rebound in the fourth quarter.

The Heat quickly sliced the deficit to 10 points to open the third quarter, but Denver had the answer to every adjustment they made.

"Right now the most important thing is to win a game," Jokic said. "We're trying to win a game any way possible. I don't need to shoot, I don't need to score to affect the game. I think I did a good job today.

Agence France-Presse

Title-hungry Nuggets face odds-defying Heat in NBA Finals

A Denver Nuggets squad looking to prove its championship quality and an upstart Miami Heat lineup that made defying the odds a trademark are on an NBA Finals collision course.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic of Serbia leads the Western Conference top seed Nuggets against sharpshooter Jimmy Butler and the Heat, who needed a play-in victory just to grab an eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The best-of-seven championship series begins Thursday at Denver. It's the Nuggets' first trip to the NBA Finals since making their league debut in 1976.

Denver has won hard-earned respect after 46 seasons of futility, this year as a playoff top seed for the first time.

"Our goal is to win a championship, so we have much more work to do," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

"Seems like for years now, some dusty old cowtown in the Rocky Mountains, the little respect that we get. You can sit there and complain about it or you can just embrace who we are and what we have.

"Until we win a championship, people are going to keep saying that about us. So that's what drives us. Getting to the finals doesn't do it. It's winning a championship."

Jokic, a 6-foot-11 center, averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and a career-high 9.8 assists a game this season and shot a career-best 63.2% from the floor.

Miami center Bam Adebayo says the key to slowing Jokic is "making him take tough shots" but added, "The biggest thing for us is try to limit his assists. Sounds easier said than done. Biggest thing for us is watching film and figuring that out."

The Nuggets have talent and depth around Jokic, led by guard Jamal Murray, who missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a torn left knee ligament. He's averaging 27.7 points in the playoffs.

"I'm so happy for Jamal. He's a special player," Jokic said. "He has been our best player since round one, really stepping up. Even if he doesn't make shots, his energy is always good. He's still fighting."

Denver forwards Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each average 10-15 points in the playoffs in supporting roles that have made the Nuggets formidable.

"When we're just playing the right way, everything opens up," Murray said. "Everybody eats when we're all playing for each other and we've been doing that for a while. We're just in a great rhythm of playing unselfish basketball."

And there's more to come.

"We've got four more wins to go," Murray said. "First Nuggets team to go all the way. We just want to make the most of the opportunity."

Heat forged into steel 

To do that, the Nuggets must defeat a giant-killer Heat team that became only the second eighth seed to reach the NBA Finals after the 1999 New York Knicks.

Miami, which lost two regular-season games against Denver, lost a play-in game to Atlanta then beat Chicago to grab the last East playoff spot.

The Heat stunned NBA wins-leader Milwaukee, beat New York and edged Boston in seven games in the East final after letting the Celtics pull level from an 0-3 hole.

"We have some incredible competitors in that locker room. They love the challenge," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"Things don't always go your way. The inevitable setbacks happen and it's how you deal with that collectively. It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down for whatever reason. With this group, it has steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher."

Butler has averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists a game in the playoffs but "Jimmy Buckets" says he isn't finished.

"Nobody is satisfied," he said. "We haven't done anything. We don't play just to win the Eastern Conference. We play to win the whole thing."

And being a huge underdog in the finals is just how Adebayo wants it.

"When you go through what we went through this whole season, people writing us off, to be four games from a championship just speaks volume to, one, we never quit, and two, everybody rallied together," he said.

Agence France-Presse

Heat rout Celtics to book NBA Finals showdown with Denver

BOSTON -- Jimmy Butler played a starring role as the Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals by routing Boston 103-84 on Monday, denying the Celtics a historic comeback after trailing the playoff series 3-0.

Butler had 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Caleb Martin added 26 points and 10 rebounds to spark Miami, which will visit Denver on Thursday to begin the best-of-seven championship final.

Miami recovered from a gut-punch of a game-six defeat, where they fell on a last-second tip-in, to win the Eastern Conference final 4-3, silencing a loud Boston crowd.

Taking full advantage of an injury to Boston star Jayson Tatum in the opening seconds and a cold-shooting Celtics start, the Heat avoided becoming the first team in 151 attempts to lose a playoff series after leading 3-0.

"We stayed together as a group," Butler said. "We talked about going to get a tough one on the road and we did just that.

"But we're not satisfied. We're happy. We're ecstatic. But we've got one more to get."

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said he never doubted his resilient squad could win game seven.

"Sometimes you have to suffer for the things you really want," he said. "This group has shown fortitude when there are inevitable let-downs and failures, but had that perseverance to pick yourself up, that collective spirit to keep on forging ahead."

The Heat, seeking a fourth NBA title and first since 2013, last reached the NBA Finals in 2020, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nuggets, into the NBA Finals for the first time, swept the Lakers in the Western Conference final.

It was a determined effort by a Miami squad that lost to Boston in seven games in last year's East finals. Miami also lacked any momentum after squandering their 3-0 edge to set up a winner-takes-all road game.

"When the ship gets rocky, just stay together and keep believing in one another," said Miami's Bam Adebayo, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Spoelstra said last year's loss had weighed on the team. "They made us get better. We thought about it all season long," he said.

Butler said his teammates enabled him to sink key shots and shut down Boston comeback bids.

"They give me so much confidence to hoop at a high level," he said. "They're the reason we're here. I know how good a team we are and we made it happen."

- 'A shell of myself' -

Tatum, who finished with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, turned his left ankle landing awkwardly after a baseline jumper in the opening seconds. He grimaced often and took only one shot in the first 17 minutes.

"It swelled up," Tatum said. "I was like a shell of myself. It was tough to move. It was frustrating especially that it should happen on the first play."

Miami stretched the lead as high as 17 points in the second quarter but Boston pulled within 59-51 early in the third.

Caleb Martin sank a baseline jumper to put Miami ahead 76-66 entering the fourth. Martin sank a three-pointer to ignite a 7-0 Miami run to open the fourth quarter for an 83-66 edge.

"Not shooting the ball well had an effect on us," Tatum said. "And it kind of snowballed."

The Celtics went nearly four minutes without scoring and never again threatened, finishing a woeful 9-of-42 from three-point range.

"They gave it everything they had," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. "That's the most important thing to take from this. We failed, but it's not because the guys didn't have a sense of togetherness and character."

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 19 points but had a career-high eight turnovers while Derrick White added 18 points.

"We failed. I failed," Brown said. "We let the whole city down."

An 18-6 Heat run to close the first quarter gave Miami a 22-15 lead with the Celtics matching their season low for first-quarter points.

Boston went 0-for-10 from three-point range in the first quarter, missing the first 12 from beyond the arc overall, and made only 6-of-23 from the floor in the opening period.

Agence France-Presse

Jokic outduels LeBron as Nuggets reach NBA Finals for first time

LOS ANGELES  -- Nikola Jokic outdueled LeBron James as the Denver Nuggets completed a 4-0 Western Conference championship sweep over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic bagged a 30-point triple-double as the Nuggets overturned a 15-point half-time deficit for a 113-111 victory that sent the Lakers crashing out and left James reportedly contemplating a shock retirement from basketball.

James had looked to be single-handedly keeping the Lakers' season alive after scoring 31 points in a magnificent first-half display that left the 17-time NBA champions leading 73-58 at half-time.

But Jokic led a resurgent Nuggets offense in the third quarter, scoring 13 points as the Western Conference top seeds outscored the Lakers 36-16 to turn the contest on its head.

A dramatic fourth-quarter finale saw Jokic put Denver 113-111 ahead with a typically barnstorming driving layup through heavy traffic with 51.7sec remaining.

With four seconds left, James had one last chance to tie it up and force overtime, but his attempted driving floater was blocked by Denver's Aaron Gordon to leave the Nuggets celebrating a famous win.

A dejected James left the court immediately following the loss as his latest bid for a fifth NBA title ended in disappointment.

James later spoke cryptically about his future in a post-game press conference, while an ESPN report said he was contemplating retirement.

"Just for me personally, going forward with the game of basketball, I've got a lot to think about," James said.

Denver -- one of 11 teams in the league who have never won the NBA championship -- will face either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics in the finals.

Miami lead Boston 3-0 and can clinch their place in the finals with a victory at home on Tuesday.

"We don't give up," Jokic told ESPN. "I've been saying this for five years -- when we were bad or when we were good -- we don't give up. And that's what happened today.

"They jumped on us the first half, they were better, more aggressive, scoring easily and didn't miss, basically.

"But in the second half we turned the page and everybody stepped up. It was a collective effort, it's not just one guy."

Jokic finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, while Jamal Murray added 25 points. All of Denver's starters finished with double-digit points tallies, reflecting the team's depth and balance.

The Nuggets will head into the finals brimming with confidence that they can end their near-half-century wait for a maiden NBA crown.

James, meanwhile, described Denver as the best team he has faced since joining Los Angeles five years ago.

"They have scoring. They have shooting. They have play-making. They have smarts. They have length. They have depth," James said.

"And one thing about their team, when you have a guy like Jokic, who is as big as he is but also as cerebral as he is, you can't really make many mistakes versus a guy like that."

- 'Self-inflicted wounds' -

James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers in a heroic attempt to keep the series alive.

"He had an amazing game," Jokic said. "We couldn’t stop him in the first half... he's still one of the best to ever play this game."

But the Lakers' supporting cast once again failed to step up when it mattered, with a series of missed baskets in the fourth quarter allowing the Nuggets to hold on to their slender advantage to clinch victory.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said his team had paid the price for not making enough shots, praising Denver's ruthlessness down the stretch.

"I just think, again, the phrase for me is 'self-inflicted wounds'. You can't have those," Ham said of the Lakers' performance.

"The sign of a great team is if you make any mistake, they're going to make you pay for it. And they did just that."

Ham, who was appointed last year with a brief to rebuild the Lakers after a dismal failure to reach the playoffs, insisted that the NBA giants were on the right path.

"This is year one," Ham said. "Losing sucks, but I think we can do something special here."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Murray leads Nuggets rally in 108-103 win over Lakers

Jamal Murray scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter as a furious finale carried the Denver Nuggets to a 108-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and a 2-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference final series.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic racked up another triple-double with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists for the Nuggets, but it was Murray who starred when it mattered most.

He made six of seven shots, including four of five from three-point range, playing all 12 minutes of a final period in which Jokic and fellow starters Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon went scoreless.

Murray's exploits were enough for a Nuggets team that had kept it close but couldn't find a way past LeBron James and the Lakers through the first three periods at Denver's Ball Arena.

"The game would've been a lot easier if I made them the first half," said Murray, adding he was able to refocus after missing some open shots and was encouraged by his teammates to keep shooting.

"Just come out focused and knock them down," he said of his second-half goal. "Don't lose any confidence or anything like that. Just play my game and know they're going to fall if I keep shooting them."

James and Austin Reaves scored 22 points apiece for the Lakers and Japanese reserve forward Rui Hachimura delivered a brilliant 21 points off the bench, but the Lakers couldn't stem the tide once Murray got going.

Two days after the Nuggets used a dominant first quarter to take control on the way to a game-one victory, it was all tied up at the end of one period.

The Lakers pushed their lead to as many as 11 in the second quarter before coming up empty on 10 straight attempts -- a dry spell ended by James's driving finger-roll layup.

James, who also had nine rebounds and 10 assists, then found Hachimura for an alley-oop dunk that put the Lakers up 53-48 at halftime.

Anthony Davis made just four of 15 shots on the way to 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who nevertheless pushed the lead back to 11 midway through the third as James came up with a steal and raced for a dunk.

But again the Nuggets clawed back, pulling level at 74-74 on Murray's pull-up jumper with 2:10 left in the third, only for the Lakers to pull away again to lead by three, 79-76, going into the final period.

Murray the man 

With 9:21 left to play a Murray three-pointer gave the Nuggets the lead for the first time since the first quarter -- and they wouldn't fall behind again.

"I think he was amazing," Jokic said. "When it mattered the most, he made shots and he won us the game, basically."

Denver made seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter -- one less than the Lakers had in the entire contest. Not only did Murray make four of them, he had two steals that set up Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. to hit from beyond the arc.

"Only one of them was uncontested," James said. "Two of Jamal's threes was right in the face of me and AD (Davis).

"The three-point line is what killed us in the fourth, but I didn't see many (defensive) breakdowns though."

Murray, who starred as the Nuggets reached the Western Conference finals in 2020 but missed the last two post-seasons after tearing a left knee ligament in April of 2021, said the Nuggets will need to show the same poise in Game 3 in Los Angeles on Saturday.

"The crowd's going to be into it. They're going to run, they're going to play with a lot of pace, a lot of energy. We've got to be able to handle that."

James said the Lakers, who have won seven straight at home starting with the play-in tournament, can't afford to be complacent about a return to Crypto.com Arena.

"We can't go into any post-season game with comfort," he said. "You've got to be even more on edge when you go home."

The winner of the series will play either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Jokic dominates as Nuggets hold off Lakers in opener

LOS ANGELES -- Nikola Jokic produced a dominant display as the Denver Nuggets held off a late Los Angeles Lakers fightback to win their NBA Western Conference finals opener 132-126 on Tuesday.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic finished with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists to give top-seeded Denver a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Jokic received offensive support from Jamal Murray, who finished with 31 points, while four other Denver players posted double-digit points tallies.

The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, who scored 40 points with 10 rebounds. LeBron James added 26 points while Austin Reaves added 23 points.

Denver led by 21 points in the third quarter but saw their lead whittled away to just three as the Lakers swept back into contention with a gutsy fourth-quarter fightback that ultimately fell just short.

"In the first half we were really good -- controlled the game, controlled everything, controlled the pace, controlled the defense and then second half we lost it," Jokic told ESPN.

"But whether you win by one point or win by 20 at this time of year, it doesn’t matter -– a win is a win."

Denver coach Michael Malone saluted his team's composure in closing out victory.

"A lot of our guys are battle-tested, we've been in a ton of close games," Malone said.

"I didn’t think there was any panic -- there was poise. Our guys looked at one another and realized what we had to do to close this game out."

James bemoaned the Lakers' slow start.

"It took us a half to get into the game and that was pretty much the ballgame right there," James said. "We have to understand that we have to start from the tip-off -- and they punched us in the mouth to start."

- 'Desperation' -

With a raucous Ball Arena home crowd roaring them on, the Nuggets took early control, surging into a 20-9 lead midway through the first quarter with a flurry of scoring that threatened to overwhelm the visitors.

Jokic was at the heart of the opening onslaught, imposing himself with eight points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the first quarter alone to help the Nuggets take a 37-25 lead heading into the second quarter.

Denver continued to score freely through the second quarter to take a commanding 72-54 half-time lead against a Lakers defense regarded as one of the best in the league.

Although Los Angeles managed to get their offense moving in the third quarter, outscoring Denver 38-34, the Nuggets continued to test the Lakers' defense.

Jokic completed his sixth triple-double of the playoffs midway through the third quarter and then electrified the home crowd with a 31-foot three-pointer on the buzzer to put the Nuggets ahead 106-92 heading into the final quarter.

The Lakers came surging back in the fourth quarter when a Reaves three-pointer trimmed the Denver lead to eight points with just over 10 minutes remaining.

The Nuggets responded with four unanswered points from Murray to help Denver take a 14-point lead with just over seven minutes left on the clock.

But again the Lakers responded and two quick threes from Reaves helped the visitors make it a three-point game after a 9-0 run.

The Nuggets held on however and a late Jokic free throw sealed the win.

James took scant consolation from the Lakers' fourth-quarter fightback.

"In postseason it doesn't matter if you cut it to one or you're down 20, if you lose, you lose," James said.

"They are 1-0 and we have to come back with desperation going into game two. We have to play better, we have to rebound better ... We need to be better in all facets of the game."

Game 2 in the series takes place in Denver on Thursday. The winner of the series will face either Boston or Miami in the NBA finals next month.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Nuggets rout Suns for 3-2 series lead

LOS ANGELES -- The Denver Nuggets thrashed the Phoenix Suns to edge closer to a place in the conference finals.

The top-seeded Nuggets are also in the driving seat against Phoenix after pummeling the Suns 118-102 in Denver.

Denver star Nikola Jokic finished with a 29-point triple-double for a win that leaves the Nuggets 3-2 up in the series, with Game 6 in Arizona on Thursday.

The Nuggets took control early on with a 35-point first quarter before Phoenix roared back to outscore the home side 25-17 in the second quarter.

Phoenix took a brief lead in the final minutes of the first half but Denver hit back to lead 52-49 at the break.

The Nuggets then roared out of the blocks in the opening minutes of the second half, outscoring Phoenix 21-6 to open up a 73-55 lead. Denver outscored Phoenix 39-25 in the third quarter and led by as much as 24 points in the final frame.

Phoenix coach Monty Williams pulled his starters from the floor long before the end as Denver celebrated a crucial win.

Jokic finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists to lead Denver's scorers, while Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points including five three-pointers.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 28 points, while Kevin Durant finished with 26.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said an improved defensive display had laid the foundation for his team's emphatic win.

"We didn't play any defense in the two games we lost in Phoenix," Malone said. "When we're not running, and we're not defending, we’re going nowhere.

"And that's what we'll have to do in game six if we're going to close this series out."

Suns coach Williams said his team's challenge wilted in the lop-sided third quarter.

"It was like nothing we've put on the floor this year from our standards," Williams said.

"We stood still and didn't move them around enough. I felt we were somewhat stagnant.

"We've got to meet the challenge with the physicality."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Suns beat Nuggets despite Jokic's 53

LOS ANGELES -- Not even a career playoff-high 53 points were not enough for Nikola Jokic to spark the Denver Nuggets to a victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Jokic's heroics were not enough as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker each scored 36 to lead the Suns over the Nuggets 129-124 to equalize their series at 2-2 with game five Tuesday at Denver.

"It's our job to protect home court," Booker said. "They say a series doesn't start until someone wins on the road so we're going to try to do that in game five."

Jokic could be looking at a suspension after he was issued a technical foul for shoving a spectator, none other than Suns owner Mat Ishbia, after the ball went into the crowd in the first half.

But Booker, who added 12 assists, is fine with Jokic scoring big -- if he still loses.

"It's a tough matchup," Booker said. "He's either scoring or getting his teammates involved or doing both. Every possession, just try to make it hard on him.

"He can have 50 all he wants as long as we get the win."

- Suns sizzle -

The Suns hit 14-of-18 shots in the third quarter, their best-shooting quarter of the season, for a 98-92 edge entering the fourth.

A Jokic three-point play and Aaron Gordon's tip-in put the Nuggets within 121-118, but T.J. Warren's two free throws gave Phoenix a five-point edge, Jokic missed a layup and the Suns, whose reserves outscored Denver's bench 42-11, cruised home.

"The two games in Denver I felt our defense was great. We left it somewhere in the desert. It didn't arrive in Phoenix," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

"Going home, that has got to be paramount. If we're getting control of the series again, it has to start with defense. And it has to be everybody. They are scoring too easy."

"It's an even series now," said Suns coach Monty Williams. "But we've still got a lot of work to do."

Agence France-Presse

Sixers' Joel Embiid named NBA Most Valuable Player

LOS ANGELES  -- Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player on Tuesday, comfortably winning a ballot ahead of the Denver Nuggets' two-time award winner Nikola Jokic.

Embiid, who finished runner-up behind Jokic the past two seasons, earned the accolade after a dazzling regular season campaign that saw him average 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 66 games.

Embiid beat out fellow MVP finalists Jokic and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo in a preferential ballot. Results revealed Tuesday showed Embiid garnered 73 first place votes, with Jokic 15 and Antetokounmpo 12.

"I don't know really where to start, it's been a long time coming," a delighted Embiid told the TNT network on Tuesday after his award.

"A lot of hard work, I've been through a lot. And I'm not just talking about basketball, I'm talking about life, my story, how I got here and what it took for me to be here.

"It feels good. I don't know what to say. Amazing."

The towering 29-year-old Cameroonian power forward helped the Sixers finish third in the Eastern Conference, but has sat out Philadelphia's last two playoff games after suffering a knee injury in the game three first round defeat of Brooklyn last week.

Tuesday's MVP honor cements Embiid's status as one of the elite players in the NBA, the latest milestone on a journey that began when he was discovered at a basketball camp run by Cameroonian compatriot and former NBA player Luc Mbah a Moute.

After playing a single season of US college basketball, Embiid was chosen by Philadelphia with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

- 'Be a leader' -

A foot injury meant he missed the entirety of the 2014-2015 season, and further surgery in 2015 ruled him out of the 2015-2016 campaign.

He finally made his regular season debut for the Sixers in October 2016, notching 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in a defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While Embiid's talent was apparent from the outset of his NBA career, it is under Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers, who took over the Sixers in 2020, that he has flourished.

Rivers has built his team and game plan around the 7ft (2.13), 280-pound (127-kilo) big man, and was also instrumental in Embiid's improved fitness.

Embiid hired a personal chef and works with a nutritionist after being urged to stay in peak physical condition by Rivers.

"He told me that I needed to be a leader," Embiid said of Rivers' advice in a 2021 ESPN interview.

"If I came back in shape, it also meant to my teammates, 'It's time to go. Joel is ready, he came back, he's in great shape, that means you guys have no excuse to not be in shape.'

"So that's what I did. I took it to heart."

Embiid has repaid Rivers' faith this season with a series of superb performances during the Sixers journey to the playoffs.

His average of 33.1 points helped him win the NBA's scoring title for a second straight year, and his performances have included three 50-point games this season.

Last month he became only the second player in NBA history after the legendary Wilt Chamberlain to record 50 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and 80 percent shooting in a game as he inspired Philadelphia to a 103-101 win over the Boston Celtics.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: OKC silences Utah, Suns win seventh straight

The Oklahoma City Thunder tightened their grip on the NBA's final Western Conference play-in berth with a 114-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday, edging a half-game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points to lead seven Oklahoma City players in double figures as the Thunder snapped a three-game losing streak.

Josh Giddey added 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds and Aaron Wiggins scored 15 off the bench as Oklahoma City's reserves delivered 50 points.

Now, even if the Mavs win their last two games, the Thunder can clinch 10th place -- and the final spot for the play-in tournament for the seventh- through 10th-placed teams -- if they beat Memphis on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro scored 24 points apiece to lead Miami to a 129-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers that kept alive the Heat's hopes of avoiding the play-in altogether.

With two games left, the Heat still have a chance to grab sixth place in the Eastern Conference from the Brooklyn Nets, although the Nets can lock up the spot with a win in either of their last two games.

Butler scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter and also handed out six assists before taking a seat in the fourth period.

Herro, who had five of the Heat's 18 three-pointers, said the Heat were more focused on finding consistency than avoiding the play-in.

"It's just being consistent for us," he said. "No matter what, coming in with the same energy wherever we are.

"Wherever we end up in the seedings, we'll be all right," he added. "We like our chances."

The 76ers, already locked into the third seed in the East behind Milwaukee and Boston, coughed up 17 turnovers, falling into a 25-point hole in the first half.

The Heat led by as many as 33 and Sixers coach Doc Rivers sat his starters in the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, coming off a 52-point performance in a hard-fought victory over the Celtics on Tuesday, scored 21 points and James Harden added 14.

"We just didn't come to play tonight," Rivers acknowledged. "We didn't have great energy. Very difficult game to have energy, honestly. It was an exercise tonight."

In Orlando, Danny Green scored 21 points and Cedi Osman added 19 for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 118-94 victory over the Magic.

Both the playoff-bound Cavs and the out-of-contention Magic rested key players, two days after the Cavs' 117-113 victory over Orlando secured the fourth seed in the East and home-court advantage in the first round.

Donovan Mitchell, whose 43 points for Cleveland on Tuesday was his fourth straight 40-point game, sat out along with Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro.

'Mission accomplished' 

In Phoenix, the Suns had all they could handle from a Denver lineup made up of reserves, pulling away late for a 119-115 victory -- their seventh in a row.

The top-seeded Nuggets rested starters Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

The Suns, meanwhile, had 29 points from trade deadline acquisition Kevin Durant, who logged more than 40 minutes as he continues to build chemistry with new teammates Chris Paul and Devin Booker.

Paul made a career-high seven three-pointers on the way to 25 points. Deandre Ayton added 16 and Booker chipped in 15 for the Suns, who took the lead for good on Durant's three-pointer with 4:10 to play.

In all, there were 23 lead changes, including six in the fourth quarter.

Bruce Brown led the Nuggets with 31 points and Reggie Jackson added 20.

"It was good to get some late-game minutes and figure out what we wanted to do on both sides of the ball," said Durant, whose on-court time with his new teammates has been limited by injuries.

"I feel like it was mission accomplished tonight."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Brunson return inspires Knicks to win over Nuggets

MIAMI -- Jalen Brunson returned from injury on Saturday and led the New York Knicks to a 116-110 victory over Western Conference leader Denver.

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors 133-119 while the Chicago Bulls defeated the Miami Heat 113-99 and the Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Clippers.

A foot injury had limited point guard Brunson to just one appearance in the Knicks' past six games but he was influential in handing two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets their fifth defeat in their past six games.

Brunson scored 24 points and delivered the key assist, with an alley-oop pass, to Mitchell Robinson that secured the triumph with 24 seconds left.

"I feel good, I'm happy to be back and glad we got the win. Everything feels good when you win," said Brunson.

"I was a little worried going into it, but I mean, everything was according to plan. I didn't feel anything, so I just kept going and kept playing.

"We kept fighting. It's a game of runs, and they're the number one seed in the Western Conference for a reason and Jokic is a two-time MVP for a reason. We kept our composure down the stretch."

Serbian Jokic finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists but also gave up six turnovers.

- Magic rally -

Markelle Fultz scored a career-high 28 points and Wendell Carter Jr. produced 27 points and 12 rebounds as the Orlando Magic beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-108.

The Clippers, who were without the injured Kawhi Leonard, made a slow start and were eight points behind within two minutes.

The Clippers who ended a four-game winning streak, paid the price for 15 turnovers.

In the last three minutes, Fultz drove in to put the Magic ahead 111-106 before Eric Gordon scored to make it a three-point game only for Fultz to drain two free throws.

Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley was full of praise for Fultz, who has overcome serious injuries in his career, and the way he is playing.

"The kid, I am so proud of this young man, just for the fact of everything he has constantly endured, he never walks in the building without a smile on his face," said Mosley.

Fultz was 10 for 17 from the field and also snapped up six rebounds.

"You see such a level of joy in his heart for playing the game of basketball and that's what shows up," Mosley said.

"You can take the numbers out, just the way he plays the game, the passion he has for his teammates. No matter what it takes to win, he is going to try to do it and I think that's what is so special about him and how his teammates feel about him."

Paul George led the Clippers with 30 points.

Saturday’s home game against the reigning champions Golden State was the final game of Ja Morant's suspension after he streamed a video of himself brandishing a gun in a strip club.

Jaren Jackson Jr stepped up with 31 points while Desmond Bane contributed 26 points in a game which Memphis dominated from the outset.

Golden State got within one possession twice in the fourth quarter but Memphis went on a 21-3 run to secure their fourth win in the last five games.

It was the 11th straight road loss for Golden State.

Morant is eligible to play again Monday's game against Dallas but Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins indicated that Wednesday's game with the Rockets is a more realistic return date. 

"Good chance he is probably out for the Monday game, because that's going to be his first day back with the team," he said.

"It's an ongoing dialogue. We'll see when he gets back in the team environment on Monday, but our anticipation is that he's at least out for Monday, then we'll cross the bridge on Wednesday when we get a little bit closer," he said.

The Bulls, who had come off a double-overtime win the previous evening, held off a late rally from the Heat with DeMar DeRozan scoring 24 points.

Miami's loss ensured playoff qualification for the Boston Celtics even before they took court and lost 118-117 to the Utah Jazz.

The Celtics had a 19 point lead at one stage in the second quarter and fall to third in the East with the loss.

The Philadelphia 76ers picked up their eighth straight win with a 141-121 win over the Indiana Pacers with Joel Embiid top scoring with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Jokic inspires Nuggets to take top spot in the West

MIAMI -- Inspired by their in-form center Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets took over at the top of the Western Conference, after knocking the Memphis Grizzlies off their perch with a convincing 105-91 win on Tuesday.

Jokic produced his sixth triple double of the season with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, as Denver handed Memphis their second straight defeat after a seven-game winning run.

Ja Morant starred for Memphis with 35 points and 10 assists but Denver's scoring was spread throughout the team -- Aaron Gordon top-scored with 24 points but all the starters reached double figures.

The Nuggets led 55-40 at half-time with their defense not allowing the Grizzlies any time or space.

Jokic's passing was superb at times but the Serb was pleased with the way they limited the Grizzlies offense.

"Our defense was amazing, we were aggressive from the start, we had a bit of luck in the third quarter but generally the whole game we had a really good defensive night," said Jokic.

"I think that is the key for us to go deep in the playoffs," he added.

The two teams are tied at the top of the West with 19-11 records. 

The New York Knicks extended their winning streak to eight games as they continued their push towards a playoff spot with an emphatic 132-94 win over the defending NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors.

The Knicks were never behind in the game after opening up an 8-0 lead and ran away with the game in the second half.

Immanuel Quickley scored 22 points and Jalen Brunson 21, with Quentin Grimes (19) and RJ Barrett (18) also making big contributions.

Golden State have won just three games on the road this season and coach Steve Kerr said they have yet to find their edge.

"You win the championship and there’s just a natural human nature drop-off," Kerr said. "You're just not on edge. Combine that with other factors — injuries and stuff — it's just we haven't gotten there yet."

Nikola Vucevic put up 29 points and DeMar DeRozan 24 points as the Chicago Bulls beat an under-strength Miami Heat 113-103 to end a four-game losing run.

The Heat, who had won their previous four outings, were without Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin and, although Bam Adebayo stepped up scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, they were blown away in the third quarter.

The Bulls (12-18) went on a 30-7 run in the third and were never in danger of losing from then on as the Heat slipped to a 16-16 record.

The Utah Jazz beat the struggling Detroit Pistons 126-111, with Lauri Markkanen scoring 38 points and a career-high nine 3-pointers.

With Jarred Vanderbilt adding 18 points and 13 rebounds, the Jazz improve to 18-16 in the West while the Pistons remain rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference with just eight wins from 33 games.

The Washington Wizards beat the Phoenix Suns 113-110, with Kyle Kuzma's 29 points helping end their 10-game losing run.

Agence France-Presse